RADIOLOGICAL INFORMATION Frequently Asked Questions Radiation Information A. Radiation Basics 1. What is radiation? Radiation is a form of energy. It is all around us. It is a type of energy in the form of particles or electromagnetic rays that are given off by atoms. The type of radiation we are concerned with, during radiation incidents, is “ionizing radiation”. Radiation is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and invisible. 2. What is radioactivity? It is the process of emission of radiation from a material. 3. What is ionizing radiation? It is a type of radiation that has enough energy to break chemical bonds (knocking out electrons). 4. What is non-ionizing radiation? Non-ionizing radiation is a type of radiation that has a long wavelength. Long wavelength radiations do not have enough energy to "ionize" materials (knock out electrons). Some types of non-ionizing radiation sources include radio waves, microwaves produced by cellular phones, microwaves from microwave ovens and radiation given off by television sets. 5. What types of ionizing radiation are there? Three different kinds of ionizing radiation are emitted from radioactive materials: alpha (helium nuclei); beta (usually electrons); x-rays; and gamma (high energy, short wave length light). • Alpha particles stop in a few inches of air, or a thin sheet of cloth or even paper. Alpha emitting materials pose serious health dangers primarily if they are inhaled. • Beta particles are easily stopped by aluminum foil or human skin. Unless Beta particles are ingested or inhaled they usually pose little danger to people. • Gamma photons/rays and x-rays are very penetrating. They pose a large danger to people because of they are able to penetrate, or even pass completely through, the human body. Gamma rays and x-rays can go through many feet of air or many inches of lead shielding. 6. Can radioactivity be neutralized? Currently there is no way in which we can neutralize radioactivity. The best we can do is transfer radioactive material to some place safe and then wait for it to decay. 2 7. What is radioactive decay? It is the process where radioactive materials disintegrate as they release radiation. 8. What is half-life? Half-Life is the amount of time it takes for half of the atoms in a sample of radioactive material to decay. For example, a sample of 1000 atoms of a radioactive material with a half-life of one year will have only 500 atoms of the material left after one year and by the end of the second year there will only be 250 atoms of the material left. B. Radiation Exposure 1. What is radiation exposure? When a person is exposed to some types of ionizing radiation the energy can penetrate the body. For example, when a person has an x-ray, they are exposed to radiation. 2. How can an exposure occur? People are exposed to small amounts of radiation every day. This radiation comes from both naturally occurring sources and man-made sources. 3. What types of exposure occur? Exposures can be either internal or external. Internal exposures are when radioactive material is taken into the body through breathing, eating, drinking, absorption through the skin, or through cuts in the skin. External exposure refers to radioactive material that is deposited anywhere (except internally) that it is not supposed to be, such as on an object or on a person’s skin. 4. What happens when people are exposed to radiation? Radiation can affect the body in many ways, and the health effects may not be apparent for many years. These effects include mild symptoms, such as skin reddening, to serious effects such as cancer and death. These effects are dependant upon the amount of radiation absorbed by the body (the dose), the type of radiation, whether or not the exposure was internal or external, and the length of time the person was exposed. Any living tissue in the human body can be damaged by ionizing radiation. The body attempts to repair the damage, but sometimes the damage is too severe or widespread. Mistakes can also be made in the body’s natural repair process as it tries to repair the damage caused by the radiation (mutations). 5. What is prenatal radiation exposure? It is the exposure of an unborn baby to radiation. This can occur when the mother’s abdomen is exposed to radiation, either externally or internally. Also, radioactive materials may enter the mother’s bloodstream if a pregnant woman accidentally swallows or breathes in radioactive materials. From the 3 mother's blood, radioactive materials may pass through the umbilical cord to the baby. Unborn babies are less sensitive during some stages of pregnancy than others. However, unborn babies are particularly sensitive to radiation during their early development, between weeks 2 and 15 of pregnancy. The health consequences can be severe, even if radiation doses are too low to make the mother sick. Such consequences can include stunted growth, deformities, abnormal brain function, or cancer that may develop sometime later in life. The radiation dose to the unborn baby is usually lower than the dose to the mother for most radiation exposure events. Pregnant women should consult with their doctors if they have any concern about radiation exposure to their unborn baby. 6. How are radiation exposure victims medically treated? Treatment of a victim within the first six weeks to two months after exposure is vital. Treatment is determined by what types of radioactive materials to which the victim was exposed. Medical personnel will treat victims for hemorrhage and shock. Open wounds are usually cleaned to remove any bits of radioactive materials that may be in them. Amputation of limbs may occur if a wound is highly contaminated and recovery of its function is not likely. If radioactive material is ingested, treatment is given to reduce absorption into the body and enhance body’s natural elimination processes (excretion and elimination). It can include stomach pumping or giving the victim laxatives or aluminum antacids. If radioactive material has gotten into internal organs and/or tissues, treatment includes giving the patient blocking and diluting agents, such as potassium iodide, to decrease absorption into the body. Other chemicals such as ammonium chloride, diuretics, expectorants and inhalants are given to a patient to force the body to release the harmful radioactive materials. Other treatments involve chelating agents, which, when ingested, bind with some radioactive metals to form a stable material that is more easily removed from the body through the kidneys. 7. Is any amount of radiation safe? Some scientists believe that low levels of radiation are beneficial to health (known as hormesis). However, there do appear to be thresholds of exposures for various health effects, for example: at 50 rem nausea occurs, at 70 rem vomiting occurs, at 400 rem death occurs. 4 C. Sources of Radiation 1. What are naturally occurring sources of ionizing radiation? They include elements in the soil, naturally occurring radon, uranium mill tailings, and cosmic rays from the sun. 2. Where do man-made sources of ionizing radiation come from? The sources include medical sources (x-rays, treatments), and from nuclear weapons testing. Some consumer products that contain radioactive materials include: smoke detectors, some watches and clocks (especially older radium dial type), some ceramics (such as old orange-red glazed Fiesta ware), some glass (especially antique glassware with a yellow or greenish color), fertilizer, food, gas lantern mantles, and antique ‘quack’ radioactive medical curative devices. 3. What is the most commonly occurring radionuclide in the human body? Potassium-40 is the most common. It is found in potassium-rich foods such as bananas. D. Radiation’s Health Effects: 1. What is radiation sickness? Radiation sickness, known as acute radiation syndrome (ARS), is a serious illness that occurs when the entire body (or most of it) receives a high dose of radiation, usually over a short period of time. People exposed to radiation will get ARS only if: • The radiation dose was high • The radiation was able to reach internal organs • The person’s entire body (or most of it) received the dose • The radiation was received in a short time, usually within minutes The first symptoms of ARS typically are nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. These symptoms will start within minutes to days after the exposure. These symptoms will last for minutes to several days, and may come and go. Then the person usually looks and feels healthy for a short time, after which he or she will become sick again with loss of appetite, fatigue, fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and possibly even seizures and coma. This stage may last from a few hours up to several months. People with ARS usually have some skin damage that can start to show within a few hours after exposure. This damage can include swelling, itching, and redness of the skin (like a bad sunburn). There can also be hair loss, nausea, and diarrhea. As with the other symptoms, the skin may heal for a short time, 5 followed by the return of swelling, itching, and redness days or weeks later. Complete healing of the skin may take from several weeks or up to a few years depending on the radiation dose to the skin. The chance of survival for people with ARS decreases with increasing radiation doses. Most people who do not recover from ARS will die within several months of exposure. The cause of death in most cases is the destruction of the person's bone marrow, which results in infections and internal bleeding. For the survivors of higher doses, the recovery process may last from several weeks up to 2 years.